Power News - Published on Wed, 21 Mar 2018

Enel, through its US renewable company Enel Green Power North America, Inc has signed new power purchase agreements with Facebook and Adobe for the sale of the energy produced by the 320 MW Rattlesnake Creek wind farm. The deal with Facebook expands upon the previous agreement for the purchase of Rattlesnake Creek’s output, increasing the renewable power supply to Facebook’s data centre in Papillion, Nebraska, upon its expansion. The agreement with Adobe will support their commitment to expanding the availability of grid-scale renewable energy. Rattlesnake Creek, which is EGPNA’s first Nebraska wind facility, is currently under construction and is expected to start operations by the end of 2018.

Mr Antonio Cammisecra, Head of Enel’s Global Renewable Energies Division, Enel Green Power said that “We are thrilled to partner with Facebook and Adobe on this wind project and to meet their individual energy needs through a customised solution. Agreements like these are a prime example of our ability to work collaboratively with corporate customers on tailor-made solutions, managing multiple off-takers with different energy supply volume needs.”

The new deal between Enel and Facebook widens the scope of the bundled, long-term power purchase agreement for 200 MW signed in November 2017 to gradually include the plant’s overall output by 2029, following Facebook’s decision to significantly expand its data centre in Papillion, around 120 miles from Rattlesnake Creek. The energy produced by the entire wind farm will enable the expanded data centre to be 100% renewable-powered.

Mr Bobby Hollis Director of Global Energy at Facebook said that “Powering our data centers with 100% clean and renewable energy is not just a goal for Facebook, it is a requirement of our business. The Rattlesnake Creek wind farm will enable us to power our future Papillion Data Center, and fulfills our passion to expand the energy market for other corporate buyers, like Adobe.”

Under the agreement with Adobe, the power and renewable energy credits from a 10 MW portion of Rattlesnake Creek will be sold to the software company through a bundled power purchase agreement in the 2019-2028 period, before the plant’s total output is due to supply Facebook’s data centre in 2029. Strategic energy management services company Competitive Energy Services acted as Adobe’s partner in bringing this power purchase agreement to fruition.

Mr Vince Digneo, sustainability strategist, Adobe said that “We’re excited to reach the next milestone in our sustainability goals through this agreement with Enel and Facebook. Collaboration is everything and we believe that PPA partnerships like this one are the way forward. Grid-scale renewable energy purchases are a key part of meeting our Science Based Targets and are critically important in decarbonising US grids.”

The Rattlesnake Creek wind farm is owned by Rattlesnake Creek Wind Project, LLC, a subsidiary of EGPNA, and is located in Dixon County, Nebraska. Investment in the construction of the wind farm amounts to approximately 430 million US dollars and is part of the investment outlined in Enel’s current strategic plan. The project is financed through the Group’s own resources. Once fully operational in 2019, the 320 MW wind farm will be able to generate around 1.3 TWh annually.